The Geography Blog focusing on all things geography: human, physical, technical, space, news, and geopolitics. Also known as Geographic Travels with Catholicgauze!
Written by a former National Geographic employee who also proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Crimea Declares Independence, Set to Join Russia

The authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol have declared independence as the Republic of Crimea and seek admittance into the Russian Federation. So far Russia only recognizes this independence and this is likely a mere formality in the process to annex the Crimea (which is likely to include the Republic of Crimea and small towns already occupied by Russian-aligned on the peninsula in Kherson oblast, Ukraine). It is unlikely any other country will recognize the Republic of Crimea unless Putin's efforts to annex it are stalled.

So far the big three of online mapping: Google, Bing, and OpenStreetMap have not recognized the change. None of the Russian map services I know of show the change yet, either. Like South Sudan this blog will monitor for any changes.

Changing European borders also give the excuse to show the Last Express closing credits. If you have not played the game on PC ($5.99 on GOG) it is now available for iOS and Android. I strongly recommend it.